I usually fall on the side that these pregame chants to psych up other professional athletes are at best a really stupid waste of time, but for whatever reason I think it’s cool that Drew did this for the drunken Saints fans at that bar.  New Orleans has to be a pretty cool town to celebrate a championship in.

Text of the chant:

Brees: “One.”

Team: “Two.”

Brees: “Win.”

Team: “For you.”

Brees: “Three.”

Team: “Four.”

Brees: “Win.”

Team: “Some more.”

Brees: “Five.”

Team: “Six.”

Brees: “Win.”

Team: “For kicks.”

Brees: “Seven.”

Team: “Eight.”

Brees: “Win.”

Team: “It’s great.”

Brees: “Nine.”

Team: “Ten.”

Brees: “Win.”

Team: “Again.”

Brees: “Win.”

Team: “Again.”

When I say "Fuck" you say "Katrina".

I may have been drinking a little too much last night, thank you Evan Williams and Squirt, but the Colts offense was very Chicago Bears like last night.  Conservative play calling, shoddy defense, and bad wide receivers.

How does Jim Caldwell concede the first half by trying to run out the clock and give the Saints another 3 points and confidence going into the locker room?  Did you seem to notice that the guy on the opposite side lines is going for it on 4th down, onside kicking it, and coaching straight from his nut sack?

Rewind a few hours and one of the best tidbits gleamed from the 28 hours of pregame nuttiness was that Sean Payton, while drinking last January, agreed to pony up $250,000 of his personal money to bridge the contract gap and sign defensive coordinator Gregg Williams as a fresh new voice for the team.  Good decision.  This guy is getting an entry right next to Bruce Campbell in my cool book.  A very un-Bears thing to do.

The best receiver in the game, Reggie Wayne, looked average at best last night.  It’s kind of like watching one of your favorite bands of all time show up 40 years older to play the Super Bowl halftime like a wrinkled karaoke version of themselves.

If Pierre Thomas would have gotten one of those late touchdowns he might have pulled down that MVP hardware.  Bookmakers put that at +800 ish before the game, could have been a big payday for some degenerates in Vegas.

Drew Brees is now in the Hall of Fame discussion.  With those big stats the last couple years and now a first ever Super Bowl for New Orleans, he’s building a bullet proof case.

So now everything football related is going to be retarded shouts of “Who Dat?” and fake creole accents.  Ugh.

Nine days until pitchers and catchers report.

Pretty much sums it up.

The pics are supposedly from his doctor of his ankle and hamstring after that NFC Championship game, and I have to admit they are pretty brutal looking.  That hammy pic is the color of Grimace.  But honestly they are probably no worse than most NFL quarterbacks after a tough game, just without a PR machine leaking them to the public.  No wonder he didn’t run on that last play.

The hamstring showing off the Vikings colors

I'll argue that this ankle is still less painful than the Prince song.

Somebody's about to get fucked up.

If you are anything like me, then you’re preparing for your postseason NFL draft right now. When the NFL is putting out live games then I have a physical need to field a list of players and compare them to the list of players somebody else came up with and hopefully win some scratch. That’s just simple logic.

Defense and special teams are actually a very large part of post season fantasy. That’s because they usually have pretty consistent scoring, so the 4 game run of a #5 seed is immensely helpful. I think last year my best player overall on one of my squads ended up being the Arizona defense. Not only does that factoid illustrate my point, but it also points out how bad the rest of my team probably was.

QB – RB – WR – TE – K – DEF

Eight Five is hobbled but not forgotten.

If you are anything like me, then you’re preparing for your postseason NFL draft right now. When the NFL is putting out live games then I have a physical need to field a list of players and compare them to the list of players somebody else came up with and hopefully win some scratch. That’s just simple logic.

Wide receivers, the original boom or bust proposition. No matter how much running backs angle to take that title away. Every post season you’ll see some of the big names get knocked out early going out with a whimper. There will be one no-name guy who goes all the way and becomes the savior of somebody’s team. And there will be the guy who just goes off even if he only lasts one game.

The key to wide receivers? Not sure. I’d just try to luck into getting one of each.

QB – RB – WR – TE – K – DEF

It's uncomfortable for everyone when you send a team mate into a post game rape shower.

If you are anything like me, then you’re preparing for your postseason NFL draft right now. When the NFL is putting out live games then I have a physical need to field a list of players and compare them to the list of players somebody else came up with and hopefully win some scratch. That’s just simple logic.

Kickers simply don’t matter. Good ones are only marginally better than the bad ones. The best kickers in playoff fantasy will end up being whoever is in the Super Bowl. So if you are really, really, really good at picking who will end up in the Super Bowl, then what are you doing wasting time with this nickel and dime fantasy shit? Start plopping some real dough down on the futures betting market.

*Updated – Matt Stover moved up to Adam Viniateri’s slot.

QB – RB – WR – TE – K – DEF

Even just one game with Gates is probably better than 3 with the guys at the bottom of this list.

If you are anything like me, then you’re preparing for your postseason NFL draft right now. When the NFL is putting out live games then I have a physical need to field a list of players and compare them to the list of players somebody else came up with and hopefully win some scratch. That’s just simple logic.

A lot of postseason fantasy drafts will forgo the TE position and just throw it in with a WR/TE flex. In those leagues the tight end position is obviously minimized to the point of only 6 maybe 7 of these guys being draft worthy. Clark and Gates are a definite cut above the rest, with the second tier ending with Celek. After that it’s even more of a crap shoot than what you normally expect.

QB – RB – WR – TE – K – DEF

I'm diving head first into this Packer. That may have came out wrong.

If you are anything like me, then you’re preparing for your postseason NFL draft right now. When the NFL is putting out live games then I have a physical need to field a list of players and compare them to the list of players somebody else came up with and hopefully win some scratch. That’s just simple logic.

One common rookie mistake in a postseason draft is to overrate the top seeds. NFL parity has created a playoff system where somebody who plays on Wild Card weekend always seems to find their way into the Super Bowl. If you have players from that lucky team then you have a chance at 4 games with your stud, while the ceiling on Peyton Manning is 3 games. Don’t be afraid to take a flyer on a stud from a 6 seed.

It was a really weird year for running backs in the fantasy season. The NFL is now a passing heavy league where the dreaded running back by committee is becoming the rule instead of the exception. While a RB is still important, I still think that drafting 1-2 stud quarterbacks are more important to winning. In whatever order, I’m still looking at targetting a RB and QB in the first two rounds in which ever order.

QB – RB – WR – TE – K – DEF

If only Flacco could light up the Bears every week.

I never understood why fantasy football has to end with the regular season. If the NFL is putting out live games then I have a physical need to field a list of players and compare them to the list of players somebody else came up with and hopefully win some scratch. That’s just simple logic.

In some ways playoff drafts can be more interesting than the regular season since the number of games a team plays becomes a huge factor in who to draft. Huge. Take it from somebody who got dominated last year by a team including Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and Santonio Holmes.

What does every playoff team except two have in common? Good to great quarterback play. The Jets and Ravens are the lone exceptions with rookie Sanchez and sophomore Flacco just playing the role of game managers. Every other team has a real man behind center that can take the entire team on his shoulders and carry them to victory. We’re seeing a golden age of good QBs in the NFL right now and there are a lot of future hall of famers in this playoff group.

So don’t miss out at QB in your draft. If you have a flex where you can start 2 of them, then do it. That gives you license to take a flyer early on a McNabb and hope the Eagles get hot at the right time to the tune of 4 games. If the parity era of the NFL has taught us anything it’s that there’s a very good chance a 5 or 6 seed will make it to the conference championship and into the Super Bowl.

QB – RB – WR – TE – K – DEF

You heard me, the Bengals are the lock of the week.

Lock of the Week:

Cincinnati over Detroit:  If you were slow to the party on the Bengals, like I was and still have them available, it’s time to pull the trigger.  Don’t be scared away by the loss at Oakland followed by the sluggish performance against the Browns last week.  Nobody tries very hard against the Browns.  CedBen is back this week.  Expect the Bengals to roll.

Strong Plays:

Pittsburgh over Oakland:  This is pending Big Ben plays of course.  A Dennis Dixon led Steelers could still win but you may have to sweat out a 17-13 nailbiter.  The Raiders offense is slightly better with Gradkowski at the controls than with Jamarcus.  If you forced yourself to watch the Tryptophan Bowl on Thanksgiving you know that difference is negligible.  It’s kind of like saying you prefer Newark over Detroit.

San Diego over Cleveland:  I’m guessing most of you have used the Chargers by now but if you haven’t the going has never been better.  This just in, the Browns are bad.

New Orleans over Washington:  The Saints are not going to go 16-0.  I just don’t believe it.  I’m not saying they aren’t a great team or a Super Bowl contender, I just think they will drop one at some point.  This has the potential to be a big let down game after the thrashing of the Pats.  They probably win but they may make you sweat.

Caution:

Chicago over St. Louis:  This is a completely unwatchable game and reason number 1346 that I’m excited to have the Red Zone Network.  The players on each team don’t even care at this point.  For those of you out there who think any of the following A) The Bears have a good defense B) good running game or C) good quarterback and therefore should have an easy victory on Sunday, I’m here to tell you the following.  The Bears don’t do anything well.  They are one of the worst 8 teams in pro football.  They have surrendered on all fronts.  I know it seems inconceivable that the Rams could win a road game but they could win Sunday.  BEWARE!!!

Denver over Kansas City:  Kansas City has been frisky at home and are developing a running game with Jamaal Charles.  I don’t trust Kyle Orton on the road especially if the Broncos fall behind.

Carolina over Tampa Bay:  This game is not in the caution category due to the fact that Jake Delhomme is “injured” (seems like a crock, polite benching perhaps?).  I’m of the opinion that could only help the Panthers.  They fall in the caution category as homerun hitter DeAngelo Williams will be a game time decision with a sore ankle.  If word comes the Williams will be able to play you can use Carolina safely.

Balls of Steel:

Philly over Atlanta:  This is not an endorsement of Philly, they are a poorly coached mess.  However, if Matty Ice and Michael Turner don’t play it could turn the tide for the Eagles.  Philly is on the road, so even with both Atlanta stars out this falls as a Balls of Steel pick.

Avoid like a 9-iron to your Escalade:

Jacksonville vs. Houston, Dallas vs. NYG, Seattle vs. San Francisco, Arizona vs. Minnesota (strong play if Leinart starts), Green Bay vs. Baltimore, Miami vs. New England, Indy vs. Tennessee